Monday, December 25, 2006

Charter readers of La Russophobe will remember that back on June 9th, when the blog was just over three months old, we published a post about Russophile wacko Peter Lavelle (pictured, left) exposing his grossly inaccurate comments about freedom of the press in Russia on his blog "Untimely Thoughts." Since then, Lavelle hasn't posted to his blog. Lavelle had made a previous foray into the blogosphere, also a dismal failure. Small wonder, since it seems Lavelle has a persistent problem simply telling the truth.

He's also desperately tried to achieve voice on Russia by sending out a ridiculous email letter and creating a Google discussion forum, none of which have the slightest bit of traction in the blogosphere except among the wacko Russophile contingent. Recently therein, he spewed out a ridiculous lie, this time about this blog. Here's what he wrote:

I know this site very well. I am one of her/his/its favorite targets. At least that site could spelll [sic] my surname correctly!!!!

My, what a lot of exclamation points we inspire! It is, of course, an outrageous falsehood that Lavelle is is "one of [La Russophobe's] favorite targets." In fact, this blog has published more than 1,100 posts since it was created and until today onlyone of them, linked above has been directed at (or even mentioned) the cartoonish Mr. Lavelle (now two). Mr. Lavelle is, you can see dear reader, a laughable egomaniac whose gross misrepresentations are deeply harmful to Russia's interests. We couldn't care less about him, but we did want to go on record pointing out his gross factual lapses and propaganda. It's important to remind Russians that, with "friends" like him, they need no enemies. It's also rather ironic that Mr. Lavelle complains about La Russophobe failing to spell his name correctly since (a) he incorrectly spells "spell" and La Russophobe is incorrectly referred to as "russophone" in the e-mail exchange in question, yet he makes no correction and (b) although LR's email address is posted at the top of the sidebar of the blog, he has never communicated with us to advise of any error. What's more, the statement about his name is not even any longer accurate since a reader advised us some time ago of the misspelling and it was corrected (even though we couldn't care less whether we correctly spell the name of someone, like Lavelle, who is helping to bury Russia).

Of course, that's to say nothing of the subhuman mendacity it takes for Lavelle to refer to the publisher of this blog as "it." One can simply feel the supercilious delusions of grandeur seeping right out of this reptile's pores. Oh yeah, and the jealousy too. If you Google "peter lavelle" you get 31,000 hits. If you Google "La Russophobe" you get the same number. The only difference is that we've only been in business for eight months, while Lavelle has been spewing out his garbage for nearly a decade.

And the inaccuracy and smears didn't end there, or stop with La Russophobe. A participant in the exchange, one Scott W. Spires, stated:

Yeah, that was exactly my thought too. And perhaps not coincidentally, she has been contributing comments at Lucas' own blog. She (he?) is also about the only person commenting at David McDuff's blog. McDuff is an interesting case. He is a distinguished and voluminous translator of Russian literature (chances are, if you're an Anglophone with an interest in Russian lit, you've got a McDuff translation somewhere on your shelf). However, he has conceived an intense hatred for Putin & all his works, and his blog is almostentirely taken up with accounts of outrages committed by the Russian government. La Russophobe, as practically the only commenter there, has been flattering him a bit. It makes me wonder if she's not some kind of provocateur, trying to make these guys look gullible.By the way, it's "La Russophobe", not "Russophone." In fact, I see no evidence that the former is also the latter....

Mr. Spires' comments are also laughably inaccurate, perhaps dishonest, though at least he manages to rise above Lavelle and notice the inaccuracy in referring to the name this blog (though not the hypocrisy). This is the natural result of a tiny bunch of russophile nutjobs blabbering to each other in a closed circle, devoid of outside input. They end up sounding just like the old Politburo, which functioned under similar circumstances, and will surely meet the same end. Several basic points illustrate Mr. Spires' idiocy: (a) David McDuff screens all of his comments and only publishes those he feels are of interest, so Mr. Spires has no idea how many people comment on that blog; (b) David's reader Jeremy Putley is by far the most prolific and significant commenter on David's blog; (c) many blogs do not want comment, it's not their goal, and some do not even allow it (for example, Michelle Malkin, who operates one of the most powerful blogs on the planet). In the mind of a wacko Russophile like Mr. Spires, though, if a publication isn't begging for his personal feedback, it's immediately suspicious. If it dares to disagree with him, then it's a target for his ridiculous smears. If you want to see whose policy is better just compare David's blog to Mr. Spires' blog . . . oh yeah, you can't, because Mr. Spires doesn't HAVE a blog.

Penny and Guzhevnikov got it about right. Lavelle is a typical smarmy leftist apologist for Putin. He's for sale. He's a Useful Idiot, self-designated in importance with zero moral authority or intellectual originality. He'll say anything in exchange for a paycheck. He doesn't even believe half of what he says. He's a paid liar.

You got that right, Michael. Russia's rise is not suprisingly a major irritant to the "democratic" West. There's not a single reason why Russia's economic developments would be looked upon favorably in the West.

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About La Russophobe

We are a team blog, and our content is the work of many talented people. Our fearless leader is Kim Zigfeld, a Pajamas Media blogger (Publius Pundit) and a Pajamas Media Russia correspondent. You can join us! You may e-mail La Russophobe with comments or submissions for publication consideration at larussophobeATyahooDOTcom. You can also find us on FACEBOOK.
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PUTIN MUST FREE THE NEMTSOV WHITE PAPER!

That craven coward Vladimir Putin is censoring the brilliant, courageous and patriotic research of former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov reviewing Putin's record in office. We demand this outrage cease immediately. Read the paper in English PDF here. The HTML version (can be cut and pasted) is here.

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Tell all the truth but tell it slant,Success in circuit lies:Too bright for our infirm delightThe truth's superb surprise.

As lightning to the children easedWith explanation kind,The truth must dazzle graduallyOr every man be blind.

-- Emily Dickinson

Alone

From childhood's hour I have not beenAs others were, I have not seenAs others saw, I could not bringMy passions from the common spring.From the same source I have not takenMy sorrow, I could not awakenMy heart to joy at the same tone,And all I loved, I loved alone.Then in my childhood, in the dawnOf a most stormy life was drawnFrom every depth of good and illThe mystery which binds me still:From the torrent, and the fountain,From the red cliff of the mountain,From the sun that 'round me rolledIn its autumn tint of gold;From the lightning in the sky,As it passed me, flying by,From the thunder, and the storm,And the cloud that took the form(When the rest of Heaven was blue)Of a demon in my view.

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La Russophobe

Girl Power: Ginger Rogers could do everything Fred Astaire could do . . . backwards, and in high heels.

Pioneer Power: Though he painted more than 1,000 works of art in his lifetime, Vincent Van Gogh sold only two.

Mark Twain: "It's a man with very little imagination who can only spell a word one way."

Socrates: "To be is to do." Sartre: "To do is to be." Sinatra: "Do be do be do."

Girl Power: On May 14, 2006, a perfect game was pitched in the Oakfield, New York Little League. Perfect as in 18 consecutive strikeouts. The pitcher's name? Katie Brownell. She's the only female player in the league.

Girl Power: On April 13, 2007, the Independent reported that women will soon be able to produce sperm cells from their bone marrow, making men obsolete.